Certain medical procedures can cause many unwanted side effects. For example, bleeding with the development of a hematoma after minimally invasive breast biopsies performed with stereotactic guidance can have a significant negative impact on patient satisfaction and may complicate and delay definitive post procedure care.
For example, large post biopsy hematomas can distort regional breast anatomy at the biopsy site and lead to significant delays of up to six weeks in performing lumpectomy for biopsy proven small breast cancers due to distortion and displacement of the tumor site. Large or painful post biopsy hematomas can also lead to reluctance in patients to undergo future medical interventions including recommended breast biopsies. Furthermore, post procedure hematomas may also increase post biopsy infection rates and, for some patients, the pain and delay in treatment may alter negatively the relief that a curable cancer was accurately diagnosed with the biopsy.
Currently, a breast biopsy may be performed by medical personnel using a variety of different modalities employing ultrasound, MRI or stereotactic guidance. For example, medical personnel may use a machine-operated unit to perform the biopsy using digital X-ray and stereotactic targeting techniques followed by manual compression of the biopsy site to prevent bleeding and hematoma formation.
One example of such a unit is the Hologic® MultiCare Prone Biopsy table or a Hologic® upright biopsy table/system. With the prone biopsy table, a patient lies prone on the biopsy table with her breast pendulant thru a hole in the table. Medical personnel may then target and perform a breast biopsy and other related procedures. Typically, a medical technologist or nurse will then apply manual compression to the biopsy site of the patient as part of a medical procedure to limit bleeding and hematoma development.
Currently, manual compression after biopsies requires valuable medical technologist or nursing time averaging 10 to 15 minutes per case and up to 40 minutes in more difficult cases if persistent bleeding is noted or the patient is on “blood thinners”/anticoagulant therapy. The degree, effectiveness, and duration of manual compression are variable among medical personnel potentially leading to bleeding and hematoma formation.
Hematomas are difficult to control once they have evolved and hence early effective compression preventing hematomas from developing is desirable.
There is thus an opportunity to improve the existing technology, especially with respect to medical manual compression procedures.
In certain example embodiments, a device is provided that aids in the medical compression process. One example of such a device is a medical compression device that can be added to medical machinery, such as the Hologic® Multicare Prone Biopsy table, for example. The device can be configured to be placed into and partially through an “operating window” of a compression paddle component used in the biopsy table. The device advantageously does not require modification of the biopsy table or modification of the compression paddle/guide for use.
In another example embodiment, the medical compression device can be affixed to the “operating window” of the compression paddle component by using a latch design to fasten the device to the paddle. The medical compression device may also be affixed to the “operating window” without the use of latches also. For example, the medical compression device may have a grooved portion that is configured to allow the device to be affixed to the “operating window” of the compression paddle without the use of latches.